Apostille for Japanese Graduation Certificates and Transcripts: Which Schools Qualify, and What to Do When One Cannot Be Attached

Whether a Japanese graduation certificate or transcript can receive an apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) depends not on the type of document but on the type of school that issued it. MOFA issues an apostille directly mainly on documents issued by public high schools, junior high schools and elementary schools (exceptions are shown in the table below). Documents from national and public universities (university corporations), private universities, national colleges of technology (kosen) and private high, junior high and elementary schools can receive only a certificate of official seal (koin kakunin), not an apostille. Documents from private vocational schools (senmon gakko) and miscellaneous schools cannot receive even a certificate of official seal.

However, even when a school document cannot receive an apostille, it can be notarized at a notary office in Japan, and the notarial certificate can then receive an apostille. This page lists what is possible for each type of school, explains how to get an apostille when one cannot be attached directly, and covers the conditions to check before applying.

By type of school: certificate of official seal and apostille

Following MOFA's table (updated 18 September 2026), this is whether graduation certificates, transcripts, certificates of enrollment and other documents issued by schools can receive MOFA's certificate of official seal and apostille.

A "No" in the table does not mean the document cannot be used abroad. Documents that cannot receive an apostille, and even those that cannot receive a certificate of official seal, can receive MOFA certification on a notarial certificate once they are notarized at a notary office (see "How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly"). In that case the apostille is attached to the notary's certificate, not to the school document itself, so check with the receiving authority that it accepts this form.

Some tables online list "national and public high, junior high and elementary schools" as eligible, but MOFA's current table says "public high schools, junior high schools, elementary schools, etc." If you will use a graduation certificate from a school attached to a national university, read the notes under "Documents that can receive only a certificate of official seal".

For documents issued by private universities and private high schools, MOFA can issue a certificate of official seal only for documents issued to students, such as graduation certificates, certificates of completion and transcripts. MOFA cannot certify certificates of employment that a private school issues to its staff (MOFA, "FAQ"). Such documents can proceed to MOFA certification after notarization at a notary office (see apostille for private documents such as certificates of employment).

Apostille vs. certificate of official seal

Both the apostille and the certificate of official seal are MOFA certifications that the official seal on a document is genuine. Which one you need depends on whether the country where the document will be submitted is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (the convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents).

Before you start, check whether the receiving authority wants an apostille, consular legalization or documents sent directly from the school. When you apply to a university abroad, you may be told that the Japanese school must send the documents directly to the university.

Documents from schools marked "certificate of official seal: Yes, apostille: No" in the table are a problem only when the receiving country is a Hague Convention country. For a non-Convention country, an apostille is not used in the first place, and MOFA's certificate of official seal plus embassy legalization completes the procedure (for documents that cannot receive even a certificate of official seal, see "How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly"). Check whether the receiving country is a party in the list of Hague Apostille Convention countries (China, for example, is a party).

MOFA also states that even when the receiving country is a Convention country, you can receive a certificate of official seal if the receiving authority asks for consular legalization by its embassy in Japan. Checking first whether the instruction is "apostille" or "consular legalization" avoids having to redo the procedure.

MOFA certification is free. For both mail and counter applications, if the documents are in order and no additional checks are needed, certified documents are in principle returned by mail three business days after receipt (documents are returned by mail only). From 5 October 2026, counter applications at MOFA in Tokyo require an online reservation (the Osaka office does not require one).

The basic requirements are the original certificate issued within the last three months (for the diploma exception, see "School documents that can receive an apostille directly from MOFA") and an application form (for a certificate of official seal or for an apostille). A power of attorney for applications by a representative, a trackable return envelope and other items are also needed depending on whether you apply at the counter or by mail. For details, see MOFA's "Application guide 3: How to apply and required documents" (in Japanese).

School documents that can receive an apostille directly from MOFA

MOFA issues an apostille directly on documents issued by public high, junior high and elementary schools, etc., and on diplomas and similar documents issued by national or public universities that are not corporations, or diplomas of national or public universities issued before incorporation. Public vocational schools, such as prefectural or municipal nursing schools, can also be certified by MOFA, but MOFA's table does not state whether an apostille is possible (see "Documents that cannot receive even a certificate of official seal").

Graduation certificates, transcripts and certificates of enrollment from public high, junior high and elementary schools can receive an apostille (or a certificate of official seal for non-Convention countries) when submitted to MOFA. However, public elementary and junior high schools are often not used to issuing certificates for use abroad, and MOFA frequently rejects them because the principal's title does not include the school name, the issue date is missing, or no official seal is stamped. Before asking the school to issue the document, read our tips for requesting documents from public elementary and junior high schools (in Japanese).

Certifying the original diploma

MOFA states that it can also certify the original diploma (gakui-ki / sotsugyo shosho). Whether an apostille or only a certificate of official seal is possible still depends on the type of school that issued it; diplomas of private universities and of national or public universities after incorporation can receive only a certificate of official seal, even as originals (see the table above). Also, MOFA's certification stamp cannot be removed once applied, which may cause problems if you later want to use the diploma for another purpose. MOFA recommends checking with the receiving authority first whether a graduation certificate can be used instead.

MOFA generally certifies documents issued within the last three months, but documents issued only once, such as diplomas, can be certified even if the issue date is old, when the receiving authority requires them (MOFA, "FAQ"). The original diploma of a person who graduated from a national university in or before March 2004 was issued before incorporation and is therefore eligible for an apostille. Before applying with the original diploma, check with the receiving authority that this document is acceptable.

Documents that can receive only a certificate of official seal

MOFA's table marks documents from the following schools as "certificate of official seal: Yes, apostille: No".

All national universities became national university corporations in April 2004. As a result, graduation certificates issued today by national universities cannot receive an apostille directly from MOFA. The same applies to public universities that have become public university corporations.

If you graduated from a national university in or before March 2004 and the receiving authority asks for the original diploma, MOFA can issue an apostille on it directly (see "School documents that can receive an apostille directly from MOFA").

If these documents are to be submitted to a non-Convention country, the procedure is completed with MOFA's certificate of official seal and legalization at that country's embassy in Japan. If they are to be submitted to a Convention country, get an apostille through a notary office, as described in "How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly".

Schools attached to national universities

MOFA's table says nothing about elementary, junior high and high schools attached to national universities. The schools marked as eligible for an apostille are "public" high, junior high and elementary schools, and schools attached to national universities are not public schools in this sense.

Schools attached to national universities are established by national university corporations. MOFA's table explicitly lists hospitals such as "National university corporation XX University Hospital" as "certificate of official seal: Yes, apostille: No", and attached schools may be treated the same way. If you will submit a document from an attached school to a Convention country, check with MOFA before applying.

Documents that cannot receive even a certificate of official seal

MOFA's table marks both the certificate of official seal and the apostille as "No" for documents issued by private specialized training colleges (vocational schools, senmon gakko and koto senshu gakko) and miscellaneous schools (kakushu gakko).

MOFA explains in its FAQ that a certificate of official seal is available only for documents issued by schools defined in Article 1 of the School Education Act (kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, secondary schools, special needs schools, universities and colleges of technology; the so-called "Article 1 schools"). Vocational schools (specialized training colleges) and miscellaneous schools are not Article 1 schools, so MOFA will not accept graduation certificates or transcripts from private vocational or miscellaneous schools submitted directly.

For documents from private vocational and miscellaneous schools, whether the receiving country is a Convention country or not, the document is first notarized at a notary office and then certified by MOFA (see "How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly"). Many international students in Japan study at Japanese language schools, which are generally miscellaneous schools or other schools that are not Article 1 schools; check with the school how it is established.

Public vocational schools can be certified by MOFA

Among vocational schools, documents from public vocational schools are treated differently. MOFA's FAQ answers that "certificates from vocational schools that are public schools can be certified". Graduation certificates from prefectural or municipal nursing schools, for example, can be submitted directly to MOFA as documents from public schools. However, MOFA's table has no row for public specialized training colleges and does not state whether an apostille or only a certificate of official seal is possible. If the receiving country is a Convention country, check with MOFA before applying.

If you do not know whether your school was public or private, or whether it is an Article 1 school, ask the school who established it (a prefecture, a municipality, an educational corporation, etc.).

Apart from the type of school, MOFA also does not certify the following:

• Copies (even if issued by a public body)
• Documents bearing only a signature or only a personal seal
• Documents whose staples have been removed or to which anything has been added
• School brochures, event schedules and theses

How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly

Even a school document that cannot receive an apostille can be notarized at a notary office; after the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau to which the notary belongs certifies the notary's seal, MOFA can issue an apostille or certificate of official seal on the notarial certificate. Because the apostille is attached to the notarial certificate, check in advance that the receiving authority accepts this form. The flow by receiving country and type of school is as follows.

Documents from public vocational schools can be certified by MOFA, but whether an apostille is possible is not stated, so check with MOFA before applying (see "Documents that cannot receive even a certificate of official seal").

How notarization works

The notary does not certify the school certificate itself. For translations of public documents such as family register and registration certificates, the Japan National Notaries Association describes a practical method in which the applicant prepares and signs a declaration confirming the accuracy of the translation, attaches a copy of the public document and the translation, and has the declaration certified by a notary. We also use a declaration when we have school certificates notarized. What the declaration says and whether the original or a copy is attached, including for English certificates that need no translation, differs between notary offices, so check with the notary office in advance.

The notary fee for certifying a document without a monetary amount, such as a declaration, is JPY 6,500 per document, plus JPY 6,000 if it is in a foreign language, for a total of JPY 12,500 (Notary Fee Ordinance, Article 34; Japan National Notaries Association, "Fees for certification"; for the revision on 1 October 2025, see our news item (in Japanese)).

Areas with a one-stop service

At notary offices in the following prefectures, you receive the document with the notarization, the Legal Affairs Bureau's certification of the notary's seal and the MOFA certification (an apostille for Convention countries, a certificate of official seal for other countries) all at once (one-stop service). There is no need to visit the Legal Affairs Bureau and MOFA separately. For non-Convention countries, consular legalization at the embassy or consulate in Japan follows.

• Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi and Osaka
• Hokkaido (Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau area), Miyagi and Fukuoka (since October 2022)

Outside the one-stop service areas, the procedure goes notary office → Legal Affairs Bureau → MOFA. For non-Convention countries, countries and regions without diplomatic relations with Japan are excluded from the one-stop service.

Five conditions to check before applying

Even documents from schools that MOFA can certify are rejected if the document itself does not meet the conditions. Check these five points before applying.

For multi-page documents such as transcripts, the school must show that the pages form one document, for example by binding the pages with a pressure seal, or numbering the pages and stamping the official seal on the last page. Details are in our tips for requesting documents from public elementary and junior high schools (in Japanese).

Watch out for university certificates printed at convenience stores (POPITA)

POPITA is an anti-forgery system used in NTT West's certificate issuing service. It embeds an electronic watermark in certificates issued by universities so that the recipient can check their authenticity with a dedicated app. It is sometimes used for certificates that universities let students print on multifunction copiers at convenience stores.

MOFA states that it "currently cannot accept" university certificates with an electronic watermark whose authenticity can be checked through POPITA. In our own experience, a certificate with a watermark that a client obtained from a university at a convenience store was rejected by MOFA.

When you request a university certificate for use abroad, first ask the university whether it can issue a paper certificate without an electronic watermark at its counter or by mail. If you have to obtain it again, the time for issue and postage is lost.

If the certificate must be translated

If the receiving authority asks for a translation, there are two ways.

1. Ask the school for an English-language certificate
If the school issues English graduation certificates or transcripts bearing the school's official seal and an issue date, the English certificate can receive MOFA certification as it is (whether an apostille or only a certificate of official seal is possible depends on the type of school, as in the table above). No translation is needed. However, English certificates are sometimes only signed and not stamped with the official seal, so ask the school beforehand whether the seal will be stamped (see condition 2 above).

2. Attach a translation to the Japanese certificate
A translation prepared by a translation company or an administrative scrivener does not bear the school's official seal, so MOFA cannot certify the translation itself. If the translation also needs official certification, use the notary office method described above: the translation and the certificate are attached to a declaration confirming the accuracy of the translation, which is certified by a notary.

Some countries require a translation by a sworn translator in that country. In some cases, such as the Italian declaration of value (dichiarazione di valore), the receiving country's system even determines how the translation must be made (declaration of value for Italy (in Japanese)), so check the receiving authority's requirements before arranging a translation. English names of Japanese documents can be found in our Japanese–English dictionary of document names.

FAQ

How can I get an apostille on a graduation certificate from a private university?

MOFA cannot issue an apostille directly on a private university's graduation certificate. Have it notarized at a notary office, obtain the Legal Affairs Bureau director's certification of the notary's seal, and then get an apostille from MOFA (notary offices in Tokyo, Osaka and some other prefectures offer a one-stop service; see "How to get an apostille when it cannot be attached directly"). If the receiving country is not a Convention country, MOFA's certificate of official seal and embassy legalization are enough.

Why can't a national university's graduation certificate receive an apostille?

National universities became national university corporations in April 2004, and MOFA's table marks documents from "national/public university corporations" as eligible only for a certificate of official seal, not an apostille. To submit a graduation certificate issued today to a Convention country, get an apostille via a notary office. If you graduated in or before March 2004, MOFA can also issue an apostille directly on your original diploma (the stamp cannot be removed, so check with the receiving authority first).

Can I have my original diploma certified?

MOFA states that it can certify original diplomas. An apostille is possible on diplomas such as those of national or public universities issued before incorporation; diplomas of private universities and of national or public universities after incorporation can receive only a certificate of official seal, even as originals (see the table above). Because a diploma is issued only once, it can be certified even if the issue date is old, when the receiving authority requires it. However, the certification stamp cannot be removed once applied, so first ask the receiving authority whether a graduation certificate can be used instead (see "School documents that can receive an apostille directly from MOFA").

What about a graduation certificate from a vocational school?

Documents from private vocational schools can receive neither a certificate of official seal nor an apostille from MOFA directly. Have the document notarized at a notary office and certified by the Legal Affairs Bureau director, then get an apostille for Convention countries, or a certificate of official seal and embassy legalization for other countries. Documents from public vocational schools, such as prefectural or municipal nursing schools, can be certified by MOFA directly (whether an apostille is possible is not stated in the table, so check with MOFA before applying).

My university told me to print the certificate at a convenience store. What should I do?

University certificates printed at convenience stores may carry a POPITA electronic watermark, and MOFA currently does not accept university certificates with an electronic watermark. Tell the university that the certificate is for use abroad and ask whether it can issue a paper certificate without a watermark at its counter or by mail (see "Five conditions to check before applying").

Summary and how to request our service

• Whether a school certificate can receive an apostille depends on the type of school that issued it. MOFA issues an apostille directly mainly on documents from public high, junior high and elementary schools (with exceptions such as diplomas of national or public universities issued before incorporation)
• Documents from national and public universities (university corporations), private universities, national colleges of technology and private elementary, junior high and high schools can receive only a certificate of official seal. Documents from private vocational and miscellaneous schools cannot receive even that (public vocational schools can be certified by MOFA)
• Documents that cannot receive an apostille can still get one on a notarial certificate after notarization at a notary office. A one-stop service is available in eight prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka (in Hokkaido, only the Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau area)
• Before starting, check what certification the receiving authority requires. Before applying, check that the document was issued within the last three months (diplomas are an exception), bears the official seal and has no POPITA electronic watermark

Certification and translation of school certificates

Royal Partners Administrative Scrivener Office handles the following for graduation certificates, transcripts, certificates of enrollment and other school documents:

• Obtaining MOFA's certificate of official seal or apostille
• Obtaining consular legalization from embassies and consulates in Japan
• Notarization at a notary office (including preparing the declaration)
• Translation of the certificates

Send us the certificates you obtained from your school, and we will determine the procedure needed from the type of school and the receiving country, and return the documents ready for submission. Even if you do not yet know which procedure you need, tell us the receiving country and the type of document and we will send you a quote. Fees are listed on our Fees page.

• Free quote and inquiry form: https://royal-ptns.com/certification/en/contact/
• Phone: +81-3-6303-1664 (weekdays 9:00–20:00 Japan time; weekends and holidays by appointment)
• Email: info@royal-ptns.com
• Fees: Fees

For other documents, see our guides by document.

References (official sources, in Japanese)

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Application guide 1: Documents that can be certified" (updated 18 September 2026) https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/page22_000549.html
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "FAQ" (updated 18 September 2026) https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/page22_000552.html
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Application guide 3: How to apply and required documents" (updated 18 September 2026) https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/page22_000608.html
• Japan National Notaries Association, "9-2 Certification of foreign-language documents" (as of 5 June 2024) https://www.koshonin.gr.jp/notary/ow09_2
• Japan National Notaries Association, "Q7. Fees for certification" https://www.koshonin.gr.jp/notary/ow12/12-q7
• Our office, "Revision of notary fees for certifying private documents at the counter" https://royal-ptns.com/certification/news/20251001/
• Gifu University, "About POPITA (electronic watermark)" https://www.gifu-u.ac.jp/campus_life/popita.html
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, "National university corporations" (established 1 April 2004) https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/houjin/houjin.htm

The information on this page is as of 24 September 2026.